Prescott receives dual exposure at World Travel Market in London

The City of Prescott Tourism Office was well-represented at the recent World Travel Market which took place Nov. 6-8 in London, according to a news release. For the first time, Prescott had two delegates at this major travel trade show.

Heather Hermen of Front Burner Media and consultant for the Prescott Tourism Office met with journalists and media from across Great Britain during 40 pre-scheduled appointments, breakfast meetings, and walk up openings over the three-day travel trade show.

City of Prescott/Courtesy

The Arizona Office of Tourism area at the World Travel Market, which took place Nov. 6-8 in London.

Margo Christensen with Ponderosa Hotel Management Services represented her five hotel properties in Northern Arizona, which includes three in Prescott – Quality Inn by Choice, SpringHill Suites and Residence Inn by Marriott. Christensen met with 20 tour operators during her pre-scheduled appointments plus a few drop-ins. Both Hermen and Christensen joined the Arizona Office of Tourism staff as well as representatives from Flagstaff, Sedona and Scottsdale.

This was the first time that Prescott had representation at World Travel Market, one of the leading tourism trade shows in the world, now in its 37th year. Over 50,000 senior travel professionals, government officials, tour operators and media meet in London every November for business appointments, networking and contract negotiations.

“This is an important show for Prescott to participate in,” said John Heiney, Community Outreach manager and head of the Prescott Tourism Office. “International travel is poised for growth in Arizona, and Prescott is well-positioned to play a big part. We appreciate the efforts of Heather and Margo in this regard.”

“I was very fortunate to be selected by the Arizona Office of Tourism (AOT) to attend this show,” says Christensen. “Partnering with AOT allowed me to attend at a very affordable cost which otherwise would not be possible for a small business such as ours.”

Hermen attended on behalf of the Prescott Tourism Office, as part of a partnership with the Williams tourism office, allowing the two agencies to share in expenses, and giving each a great representation at travel trade shows.

“By taking advantage of this unique partnership to offset costs and pay only half of the travel and trade show attendance, Prescott maximizes revenue and still received full representation with the media. We were able to showcase all that Prescott has to offer to a captive audience who loves our cowboy culture, history, heritage, and unique northern Arizona location. We’ve already received outreach by journalists and look forward to hosting many of them in 2018 to experience it in person and share their stories with the ever increasing UK market.”

As a result of this effort, there will be ongoing follow-up throughout the year, and it is expected that Prescott will benefit from visits from travel media, and familiarization “FAM” tours in 2018. In 2017, Prescott hosted five “FAM” tours, a total of 30 journalists from around the world including the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Mexico, China, Canada and Italy.

Familiarization tours and international marketing are key components to the Prescott Tourism Office’s marketing strategy. International visitors tend to stay longer, spend more money and are naturally drawn to Prescott’s western heritage, cultural attractions and outdoor amenities.